Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in Shirley is not on my bank's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s conveyancing?
It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator revealed that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) lack of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the Shirley conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
We are acquiring a brand new apartment in Shirley and my solicitor is advising me that she is duty bound to the bank to reveal incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to exchange contracts and my preference is not to prolong the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
It is is a decade since I purchased my property in Shirley. Conveyancing solicitors have now been retained on the sale but I am unable to track down the title deeds. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be with your mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Shirley relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
The Shirley conveyancing solicitors that I recently instructed on my purchase in Shirley have suddenly closed. I only went with them because I had to have a lawyer on the Santander conveyancing panel and my family Shirley lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take one hundred and fifty pounds for searches. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Santander conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to help.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one round the corner in Shirley I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Shirley in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
Should I use a Shirley conveyancing practitioner in close proximity to the house I am buying? I have an old university friend who can execute the legal formalities but her office is 200miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a local Shirley conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to execute documents, deliver your identification documents and pester them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a benefit. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and they were content that must surpass using an unfamiliar Shirley conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being based in the area.